Your Aura is Blue
Spiritual and calm, you tend to live a quiet but enriching life. You are very giving of yourself. And it's hard for you to let go of relationships. The purpose of your life: showing love to other people Famous blues include: Angelina Jolie, the Dali Lama, Oprah Careers for you to try: Psychic, Peace Corps Volunteer, Counselor

About Me

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This blog started out as a way for me to display and sell my handmade jewelry creations. I have set up shop on Etsy.com, where my shop name is "Dreamin of Beadin". The link to my Etsy store is located on the right hand side of this page. Please check me out!! If jewelry's not your thing, then check out the site anyway ~ there are plenty of talented artists selling lots of cool things there. For your reading pleasure, this blog will serve as a sneak peek into what's going on "behind the scenes" in my world. I love to cook, so there will be plenty of recipes, as well as product reviews and the occasional product giveaway (woo hoo!) I also love to take pictures of anything and everything, and I just bought a new camera, so there will be plenty of photos. And I like wine too, so things could get pretty interesting . . . Thank you for your support of me, Etsy and "all things handmade" :)

3.07.2009

Zuppa Toscana - Just Like at "Olive Garden"

Anyone who knows me well knows that I favor indie restaurants over most chains. The one chain restaurant I do like a lot is the Olive Garden, and one of my favorite things on their menu is the Zuppa Toscana. It's got a creamy base and a nice kick from the spicy Italian sausage that's in it. A few weeks ago, I was seriously craving this dish, so we took a spin over to OG and had lunch.
As I was enjoying my soup, I was thinking to myself, "I could make this!". Really, the ingredients don't seem complicated: potatoes, sausage, and some type of leafy green . . . spinach maybe? I made it my mission to find a recipe that was as close as possible to this delicious soup.
I had no problem finding copycat recipes on the web. They all seemed very similar to one another, which told me that I was probably close to finding the real deal. Each claimed to taste "exactly like" the Zuppa Toscana found at Olive Garden. I picked the one that suited me best and gave it a whirl.
The outcome was fabulous!! Kid you not, it tastes just like the soup at OG (maybe even better). Serve it with crusty bread and it makes a tasty lunch or dinner. I love it, and I plan to make it often ~ well, in between trips to the restaurant, anyway.
Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients:
1 lb Italian Sausage (I used half mild and half spicy, to give it that "kick")
2 large Russet potatoes, sliced into thin cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 of a 3 oz. jar of real bacon bits
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups kale or Swiss chard, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 quart water (equal to about 4 cups)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Directions:
1. Cook sausage in a 300°F oven for approximately 30 minutes, or until done.
2. Drain sausages on paper towels and cut into slices.
3. Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, and garlic in pot. Cook on medium heat until potatoes are done (approx. 30 mins). If you prefer, you can saute the onions and garlic in a little bit of butter or EVOO to "sweat" them out before you add the other stuff.
4. Add sausage and bacon bits.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
7. Turn to low heat.
8. Add kale and cream.
9. Heat through and serve.
Serves 4-6
Total cook time: Approx. 1.5 hours

2 comments:

Alison Kelley said...

Stacy this looks so good! Olive Garden is one of my favorite restaurants too, I actually used to work there when I was a teenager and I loved it! It was so much fun and I got to eat all the soup, salad and bread sticks I wanted for free!

jacjewelry said...

This looks absolutely delicious - I'll bet it's better (homemade always tastes better than anything you can get at a restaurant... OK except maybe sushi). I love their salad!